Set up Teams SMS Service

Updated at April 17th, 2025

Prerequistes

  • Microsoft Teams Connector Portal Access - Reseller Access.
  • SMS Carrier has been configured and assigned to your Microsoft Teams Connector Portal. Please contact your representative if Teams SMS has not been added to your account.
  • Microsoft Teams Admin Access. Ensure Chat and Chat with groups are enabled in the Microsoft Teams Admin Center to allow users to seamlessly open and add the SMS app.
 

Follow these steps to set up the Teams SMS Service.

  1. Set up SMS service for the domain.
  2. Build the SMS App Template that will be used for your domains that use Teams SMS (if this has not already been configured).
  3. Configure and deploy the SMS App for the domain.
  4. Add the SMS Numbers for the Enterprise.

Set up SMS service for the Domain 

From the Reseller level, click on the Enterprises menu item.

Click on your selected Enterprise to manage.

Go to Enterprise > SMS > SMS Domains

 

Click on the Add Domain button. 

In the Add Domain screen, supply values for the following:

Carrier Profile: Select the carrier profile.

Domain: Select the domain to be configured for SMS service. This drop-down box lists all domains for which the API credentials have access rights, except those already configured for SMS.  
 

Once added (connected) successfully, the domain is listed in the table. The columns in the table contain:


Domain - The Domain name

Carrier Profile: The descriptive name of the Carrier Profile represents the API credentials.

Subscription ID: The identifier given to the Microsoft Teams Connector listener webhook. UnitedCloud will deliver all incoming SMS messages to the registered Microsoft Teams Connector webhook. This is shown here in case there will be a need to escalate issues with UnitedCloud for messages not received.

Date Subscribe: The date the Domain was set up for SMS and connection with UnitedCloud was established.

Expiry: The expiry date of the connection with UnitedCloud.

Ready!

Once SMS Domains are added, proceed to configure phone numbers to use the configured SMS Carrier Profile. See this page for more info - Managing Phone Numbers Capabilities.

Delete Domain

If the customer Enterprise no longer wishes to use the SMS service, click on the Delete Domain action to disconnect the domain. This delete step lessens the unnecessary load on your UnitedCloud and Microsoft Teams Connector systems.

Troubleshooting

Problem: I am receiving SMS messages on my portal, but they are not appearing in Microsoft Teams.

Solution:  Ensure the user's domain has been added to the SMS > SMS Domains screen per the instructions earlier in this article. If the domain is already registered, try deleting it and adding it back.

Problem: I can send outbound SMS messages from my Portal, but I cannot send outbound SMS messages from my SMS app in Teams.

Solution: Ensure the phone number is assigned to the right SMS Carrier Profile. See the Centralized DID Management guide to learn more about managing phone numbers.

Then, click the "Verify Credentials" button to ensure the SMS Carrier Profile works. 

SMS App Configuration

Enterprises can be configured for SMS service. This page provides instructions on configuring and deploying the SMS Application for an enterprise (scroll down if you have not built the SMS App Template). 

Ensure Chat and Chat with Groups are enabled in the Microsoft Teams Admin Center so users can seamlessly open and add the SMS app.

Building the Application Template

The SMS interface is housed in an app template for the Teams Application. Note this template must be defined. 

Do the following steps:

  1. From the Reseller dashboard, click App Templates. 

    The App Template Management screen displays.
  2. From the App Template Management screen, click the SMS App tab. 

  1. The following fields in the form allow you to apply your branding details for the app. Fill out the form with the following information:
    • Version: This is the version number of the SMS app to be deployed in Teams.
    • Dev Name: This displays the name of the app's publisher in the app store.
    • Short Name: Used in the app store and as a header.
    • Full Name: This field is used to enter the application's full name. The same information as the Short Name may be populated.
    • Short Description: This is used in the app store to help users recognize that they have found the correct app when they search.
    • Full Description: This will appear as the body of the content on the About tab in the app.
    • Application Branding Icon: These icons are associated with the Application in Teams. The default is either the Microsoft Teams Connector swirl or a chosen graphic. You can change this to anything (for example, your logo, the Enterprise logo, a telephone graphic, and others) following Microsoft graphical sizing parameters (192 by 192 pixels and 32 by 32 pixels in transparent PNG format).
    • Portal Single Sign-On Tab Name: Label this with something descriptive so the end users can easily identify it. The sample format is [Brand Name] SMS Portal.
    • Website URL: Enter the URL of your website.
    • Privacy URL: Enter the Reseller's Privacy URL link. By default, this will connect to the Microsoft Teams Connector Privacy URL. You may want to copy and customize the privacy policy and make it available on your company domain.
    • Terms of Use URL: The rules are the same as those for the Privacy URL above. You can see the existing Microsoft Teams Connector Terms of Use if you want to customize and host it on your company domain.
    • Select Accent Color for Logo: This colour will be displayed in areas where the logo has transparent parts.
    • Configurable Tabs: Drag the tabs to the box on the right in the order you want them to appear in the app. If you choose not to make the Single Sign-On tab visible, leave this tab out by not dragging it to the right. The chat and about tabs are mandatory per Microsoft's guidelines.
  2. Click Save SMS Application Template.

Result: The changes will appear similar to the following screenshot:

 

Customizing the Application Template for an Enterprise

To customize the application for the enterprise, do the following:

  1. From Enterprise, click App Management.

    The settings configured in the app template are fed to the enterprise level. Determine if you prefer to customize the app with the Enterprise's branding or yours. Here, you can make individual changes, when desired, per enterprise.

Make the relevant customizations.

Click Save SMS Settings for Deployment.

Note: To deploy the app to the organization's Teams, the enterprise's Microsoft Global Admin must proceed to the dashboard and click the Sync SMS App button. 

Alternatively, the sync app steps maybe done later after assigning SMS phone numbers to member Teams users. This is discussed in a later section below.

Adding SMS Phone Numbers for the Enterprise

The SMS DID page has been replaced by the Phone Numbers page. 

Uploading Phone Numbers

Assigning a Phone Number

Configuring SMS Users Individually

To individually configure SMS users, do the following:

From the Enterprise > Users page, go to the Manage Users pane and click Manage SMS.
 

Mark the Enable SMS Service checkbox.

  1. Set the User Type drop-down list to Basic User.

Select the phone numbers to assign to the user and move them from Unassigned DIDs to Assigned DIDs.
 

Click Submit.

Note: When users were added by anyone other than the Microsoft Global Admin, the admin must log in and click the Sync SMS App button from the Dashboard page to finalize all changes.

This creates a team in MS Teams named with the phone number assigned to the SMS user. 

 

Configuring SMS Users in Bulk

  1. From the Enterprise Dashboard, click Bulk Upload.
     

On the Bulk Upload Users screen, set the User Type drop-down to SMS, click Browse and locate the CSV file to upload.

TeamsUserID: The user's Microsoft Office 365 email address.

User Type: BU - Basic User 

Country Code

SMS DID

  1. Click Upload.

    Users are extracted from the CSV file displayed on the screen.
  2. Click Validate.
    This analyzes the file and ensures no obvious data entry failures, such as invalid email addresses, a DID already in use, or an attempt to configure a user who is not properly licensed. Hovering over the error will give guidance about what specific error is preventing configuration.

In the example below, the top user can successfully be added, while the second user's DID cannot be assigned to the enterprise.

When there are no detectable errors, the blue Validate button changes to say Submit:

When the file is successfully uploaded, a confirmation message displays.

When users were added by anyone other than the Microsoft Global Admin, have the admin log in and click the Sync SMS App button from the dashboard page to finalize all changes.

When the sync is complete, a confirmation message displays in the activity feed.

Users would be displayed on the Enterprise Admin Dashboard.

As the user starts sending and receiving SMS messages, channels would be created inside this team for each external phone number that is contacted. 

These channel names may also be renamed by the user in Teams.

The end user can locate and pin the app and send SMS messages. See SMS and MMS (Texting): End User Experience.

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